Applications of medical informatics in allergy/immunology.

OBJECTIVE

To provide a general overview of informatics and its interface with allergy/immunology.

DATA SOURCES

The PubMed interface to MEDLINE was searched with the keywords asthma, allergy, or immunology together with the keywords informatics, bioinformatics, and information technology to retrieve the articles relevant to this review.

STUDY SELECTION

The authors' knowledge of the field was used to include sources of information other than those obtained through the MEDLINE search.

RESULTS

A survey of informatics, with emphasis on the relevance to allergy, asthma, and immunology, is presented.

CONCLUSIONS

Several innovative informatics approaches have significant potential to improve health care on diverse fronts. Newer methods of information representation are poised to facilitate the impact of cutting-edge research on clinical practice.